My name is Thomas Andrew Curtis; however, I am better known to my family and friends as ‘Chopper’. I lived in Swadlincote with my Mum and Brother.

I am 29 years old, and I have a daughter called Alexes.

Alexes is my entire world and I love her with all my heart.

I went to The Pingle School from 2006-2010 where I made many friends and maybe caused some chaos through the years!

I was always a busy, active person and never liked to sit around for very long at all.

Most of my time was spent on my feet working and seeing friends & family.

I enjoyed exploring different cities including visiting some of the top restaurants and bars.

I always made sure I had the time to book myself a sunny holiday here and there where I could continue exploring outside of England.

I worked as a Mastic Sealant Applicator, which meant getting up early and working long hours through the day.

My job was very physical, working on different building sites where I’d be working on new homes and university accommodation.

I’ve worked at Leicester City’s training ground and the big Ambulance Depot at Oldbury.

For me to complete my role to the best of my ability, I completed CSCS training and gained my cherry picker license.

As well as my working life, my social life has always been very busy and on the go!

From the age of 5, I have played football which has always been a big passion of mine.

I have played for many local teams including Gresley Rovers and Moria FC.

Over the years, I have won lots of trophies including, ‘Managers Player’ ‘Players Player’ and the league.

My team won two cups and I was able to play in a final in 2023 at St Georges Park.

On Mondays, I played in a 6 a side league at Robert Sutton school where we used to enjoy a couple of cheeky drinks after the game.

In addition to football, I enjoyed going for drinks with friends and have attended many events including the races and a white-collar boxing event at Leicester Tigers.

It’s safe to say that sports played a big part of my life outside of work, whether I was watching or playing.

On Friday 8th December 2023, I was driving home from visiting a friend who’s in a wheelchair after a motor cross accident.

I was driving through wet muddy lanes, when unfortunately, I drove up a mud verge and hitting a sign face on. I turned away from the sign and rolled the van into 3 fields. I was flung out of the driver’s side window and fell to the ground.

I had no access to my phone as that was lost during the accident, and I had to use my apple watch to ring my Mum. My mum arrived near the scene, but it took her 35-40 minutes to find me. Once my Mum found me, she rang the ambulance which took 2 and a half hours to arrive.

Whilst waiting for the ambulance, me and my mum were joined by 3 police officers who did their best to escalate the severity of the accident and hurry the ambulance up.

When the ambulance arrived, my clothes were cut from me, and I was wrapped up in a foil blanket.

I was taken straight to Nottingham Queen’s Medical Centre and up to the A&E department. I was then rushed to ICU and put into a medically induced coma for 3 days. Prior to being put in the coma, I was resuscitated twice.

Between the ambulance, A&E and ICU my paperwork was lost twice, so I was known as ‘unknown white male’ from Friday till Tuesday, even though my Mum had given them my personal information on two occasions.

The day after my accident was a scary time for me, my friends and family as it was touch and go whether I would make it or not.

Whilst I was in the coma, I had a MRI scan, CT scan and X-Rays.

The scans and X-rays confirmed I had the following injuries:

-T10 and T11 fractures.

-Fractured neck

-Fractured sternum

-Collapsed lung

-Half a black eye!

On Monday 11th December I had a operation to have 2 titanium rods and 14 screws fitted to the two fractured vertebrate. I spent a further 3 days on ICU and then I was moved to the ‘Trauma Unit’ on Thursday 14th December. I spent just over two weeks on the Trauma Unit, and then I was moved to ‘Ward D8 – Spinal Unit’. Whilst I was on the Spinal Unit, I started Physio, which included sitting on the edge of the bed completing stabilizing and reaching exercises.

Unfortunately, during my stay on Ward D8, I ended up with a large bed sore which threatened the speed of my recovery.

From here, my new steps were to be moved to The Rehabilitation Centre at Northern General Hospital – Sheffield, where my journey to recovery would really begin! I was told I could be waiting till the end of January for a bed. There were around 8 of us on the waiting list.

During my stay on the Trauma and Spinal Unit, I was visited by many friends and family. My day would consist of up to 20 people visiting me, which kept a huge smile on my face. I felt blessed to also have visitors on Christmas Day.

On Saturday 13th January, I was told I would be moving to Sheffield on Tuesday 16th January. This was the news I really needed to hear.

I arrived at the Rehabilitation Centre in Sheffield on Tuesday 16th January. The staff were concerned about the bed sore I had, which has slowed my progress down. The important thing at the time, was to get the bed sore right. However, in more positive news, I was told I could have a shower every 3 days!

I have undertaken physio sessions since I arrived at Sheffield, and I complete upper body exercises with a weight daily. With the physiotherapist, I am doing shuffling and ball exercises.

On Tuesday 23rd January I sat in my wheelchair for the first time and spent just over an hour moving around in it and exploring the ward that I am on.

On Wednesday 24th January, my consultant told me that I would be having a Debridement operation to clean and treat my bed sore the next day. So, on Thursday 25th January, I had the Debridement operation which was a success. My Coccyx bone was removed to speed up the closure of my sore and then the bone was sent off for infection testing.

In a couple of weeks, the consultant would like to undertake another operation to close the wound depending on how it heals.

I am still in the very early days of my recovery and if my injuries are T10 complete. Furthermore, it is difficult to say whether I will regain sensation and motion in my legs.

I will be unable to return to my current job role due to my injuries, which means I will be adjusting to life in a wheelchair.

I will not be able to return home to my Mum and brother as we lived in a 3-storey house and these living conditions would not be physically suitable.

I am determined to resume an independent life living in my own bungalow. The bungalow would need to be kitted out with furniture which would come at a cost. My bungalow will also need various alterations to suit my needs, which will require purchasing expensive accessible equipment. Some of this equipment is :

-A suitable light weight wheel chair that I can transport round with me.

-Attachments for the wheel chair and furniture.

Additionally, I would like to put a deposit down on a bigger car that would fit my wheel chair in, so I can independently get out and about, especially to visit my daughter, and take her to different places that we can enjoy together. The car would also require additional attachments which I would have to purchase before receiving the car.

The staff at Nottingham Queen’s introduced me to the ‘Matt Hampson Foundation’ The foundation supports people with life changing injuries and provides a variety of physiotherapy and mental health support. Some of the money could pay for some sessions there to help with my recovery.

Additionally, someone at the Rehabilitation Centre in Sheffield is involved with the foundation and has also spoke about the foundation with me.

I will need on going specialist physiotherapy and it is not going to be a smooth journey, but my motivation and determination is high, and I will not stop till I get where I deserve to be. I am looking forward to starting the activities at Sheffield and getting my confidence back.

Finally, I just want to say a massive thankyou to every single person that has visited me and messaged me every single day. I am feeling very grateful to all who have supported me on my journey so far.

I will bounce back, and I know I have good friends and family around me that will help me.

Your support is a huge reminder of the importance of me reaching my goals and all donations will be greatly appreciated, so thank you in advance.

Chopper x